Prior to today, there was no timeout corner. There was the idea of a timeout corner, but no set of adjoining walls had been chosen, no rules had been established. But things were about to change.
Dh was making me a cup of tea (such a nice hubby!), I was at one end of the living room/playroom filling up the wipes container, and the kids were playing together (with a single toy mind you) at the other end of the same room. This puts dh and I at opposite ends of the house and nearly the exact same distance apart from where they were playing.
I remember looking over and thinking to myself, "Wow, look at them playing so nicely together." I should have known better.
Although we've talked about "sharing" and "taking turns", it's not an easy concept for the almost sixteenth month old brain to comprehend. It's just so much easier to grab/take/snatch what I want and run into the other room.
They were babbling back and forth, playing *together* with the bead maze, when all of a sudden it got really quiet.
I should preface the rest of this by saying that Fin has a tendency to bite or pinch when she gets worked up. The biting came about when she started getting her molars, which isn't uncommon for kids to do when they're teething. But the pinching, not sure where she picked that up?
As soon as we heard the silence, dh and I looked over and saw Fin grabbing onto Bub's face with both hands. She had a finger in each of his eyes and was squeezing his cheeks as hard as she could at the same time. I think Bub was too stunned to react, or even cry. After realizing what was happening, we both came running and I yelled for Fin to "LET GO!". And then (still kinda yelling), "That's not ok. That's a timeout."
How to discipline was something dh and I had talked about. We knew the methods we did and didn't want to use. We had the foundation, but none of the details.
Which is why, as soon as I said the "t" word, dh grabbed Fin and then looked at me as if to say, "What do I do? Where do I take her?" I looked up and pointed to the nearest corner, which happen to be in the hallway by the stairs, and told dh to put there and count down from ten. As he counted, she screamed.
I should preface the rest of this by saying that Fin has a tendency to bite or pinch when she gets worked up. The biting came about when she started getting her molars, which isn't uncommon for kids to do when they're teething. But the pinching, not sure where she picked that up?
As soon as we heard the silence, dh and I looked over and saw Fin grabbing onto Bub's face with both hands. She had a finger in each of his eyes and was squeezing his cheeks as hard as she could at the same time. I think Bub was too stunned to react, or even cry. After realizing what was happening, we both came running and I yelled for Fin to "LET GO!". And then (still kinda yelling), "That's not ok. That's a timeout."
How to discipline was something dh and I had talked about. We knew the methods we did and didn't want to use. We had the foundation, but none of the details.
Which is why, as soon as I said the "t" word, dh grabbed Fin and then looked at me as if to say, "What do I do? Where do I take her?" I looked up and pointed to the nearest corner, which happen to be in the hallway by the stairs, and told dh to put there and count down from ten. As he counted, she screamed.
Meanwhile I was examining the damage to Bub's face and making sure his eyeballs were still in tact. They were.
After her ten seconds in the newly established timeout corner, we all gave Fin hugs and loves (including Bub) while also letting her know that it's not a good idea to mangle your brother's face.
After her ten seconds in the newly established timeout corner, we all gave Fin hugs and loves (including Bub) while also letting her know that it's not a good idea to mangle your brother's face.
Funny, she hasn't pinched any of us since.
She also doesn't like walking near that particular corner and kinda gives it the evil eye every time she passes by.
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